La Paz

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Arrive in La Paz at 6.30am shattered as the trip was freezing! The boys were on a lesser bus so had arranged to meet them here as been told never to get a taxi in la paz, certainly not on my own. After waiting over an hour I decide they must have missed me as my bus was late and am so cold I can´t feel my feet so break the rules and get a cab to the hostel. They aren´t there either and they have no room but at least it is slightly warmer. They finally arrive at 9am thinking I must be dead. We get a hostel a few doors down and immediatelly get into bed. Get up for lunch but struggle, the altitude is a killer and the city is all sloped! I manage to eat nothing but finally feel better by the evening. Quite lucky too as Paul and Simon have arrived from Rurrenebaque and are ready for a night out. They also don´t shut up about the jungle trip and insist we book so they can go back the next day! It is mothers day in Bolivia so there is a huge concert by the cathedral. We stop and have a wierd street drink of frothy milk, meths and cinamon (from what we understood...) funnily it made us all feel better so we continue to karaoke where we take over the joint.
Next day Andrew is ill in bed so we pretend to see sights, due to the amount of hills I see one cathedral only. Next day he has recovered so we book our Rurrenbaque trip to leave that day! The woman needs to persuade a few people as the flights are officially full... Simon heads off early at 1 and the rest of us leave on the dodgy town minibuses at 3. Andrew and Darren are in a state and have the valium handy, the plane takes 17 people and lands in a field... Arrive safely and find Simon in his favourite bar (due to the female owner) with many tequilla sunrises behind him. He thinks he has booked us rooms but we have to go check, his spanish is quite basic. All good, another double bed for me as I get in the room before Andrew and Darren. Straight back to the bar for the evening after sampling the best fish restaurant in town.
next day lazing as due to knowing the bar owner she had kindly prepared a huge paddling pool for us and barbq, that was the afternoon wasted, she even brought us cocktails to the "pool". Then we realised the England friendly was on so she brought a TV out, but not on!!! So she sent her maid to the local TV station to try and get it changed, unfortunately Argentina paid for the game so had blocked it, damn! Still great day and afternoon, Simon finally got out of the pool at 10pm!
Next morning up bright and early for our pampas trip, only 20 US per day!! And yay! Shaun had made it in time so we all packed in the jeep for the 3 hour drive. Finally get to a sort of town for lunch then pack into the long boat for 3 hour trip down the river to camp. Saw tons of animals, aligators, capyburas, tons of birds, yellow and silver monkeys. Then luckily some pink dolphin as they scare the aligators to the banks so we get in and swim... Then sudden thunder and lightning storm, not good when in a boat! Finally at camp, straight to the sunset bar for some beers and some for later then back for a feast of a dinner. I am finally not at altitude so eat everything that isn´t claimed in the first servings. Earlish night as electrivity turns off at 9 and an early start for anaconda hunting... We have a huge dorm with mosquito nets so all sorted, except for simon snoring at the other end of the dorm!
Well the anaconda hunting begins at 8 after a 3 course breakie (for me anyway) but as there is no sun we aren´t hopeful. They like sun and are normally found in an hour. We are given wellies but told we will be up to our thighs anyway.... We trek for 4 hours in thick swamp, fighting undergrowth and bugs in our wellies, hell... We stop for half an hour in a wood while our guide has a look about, we then follow him but notice an aligator in the water with us so soon run out. We finally give up and rush back down the river for lunch!! We all need a snooze after that so don´t go for our fishing trip until late. Catch a few pirahna, mine mostly babies that we let go again, then back for dinner. The pirahna´s taste excellent even if there isn´t much meat on them. Sunset in the sunset bar as tonight has good weather and we need beer for later. Then out for a night watch in the boat. We can´t see a thing except aligator eyes, very creepy!! The guide starts a camp fire and we all sing and dance for a few hours on two beers each, obviously a tiring day!
Final day up for a boat ride, mainly sun bathing as seen almost everything. Then the 3 hour ride back to the "village" after lunch, 3 hours in the jeep then we all rush to the hot showers!! Fantastic. Try a different bar for once and meet Mark from Canada, I knew he was here somewhere. Then back to pachamama´s as usual for more craziness.
Up early for our flight home but due to too much faffing around we miss the airport bus, we each have to get a "taxi", motorbike.... 6 of us with backpacks on dodgy looking taxis on dirt roads is a sight! We get there obviously in time as no plane leaves on time from here.
Back to La Paz, nap the day through to prepare for the karaoke night take 2. Dragged everyone to Wagamamas, not the real one but great japanese food anyway. Then don´t remember much after Kath and I bought a bottle of vodka in the karaoke place (cheaper than cocktails). Tried looking for gay bars, found none so Darren was annoyed then he carried me into a gringo bar. I recovered after a few hours so was eventually last home and found Kath in my bed as she had been locked out of her hostal!!
Turned out the boys had had to shimmy up the drainpipe to get in that hostal too. All ill next day so glad we had decided not to see Tiahuanaco, if only we had told Simon and Paul in time. They had booked it so got up one hour after going to bed and it turned out to be not that great.
Next day, death road. Officially the most dangerous road in the world due to the number of deaths per year 100+, mostly from drunken bus drivers taking a whole load with them but a few tourists. I was ill the whole night before from altitude so not feeling the best, we get our kit at 7am then arrive at the top about 8.30. Start on tarmac for about 2 hours, I am shaking all over the place as not slept or eaten for 2 days, damn altitude. Then we get to the hill where me and a few others get in the bus that follows us the whole way. I decide to get out when the real death road starts and the wussy tarmac stops. It is hell, I have discovered I am not a mountain biker, the bike falling over the place at the best of times would annoy me but when you are next to a 4000m drop (you have to ride on the cliff side) it is even less fun. After nearly falling off the side 3 times and then in front of a lorry once I was about to quit. It was me and one guide at the back, the others had raced ahead. Got stuck in almost every signal place where a person stands with a red and green sign stopping you when trucks are coming up, as it is crazily enough a fully working road... finally got to the break point and ate one biscuit. Decided enough was enough and got back in the bus for the last section, everyone needed a mask as it was all sand so no way to breathe or see!! I was asleep in seconds anyway. At the bottom we got hot showers and a buffet lunch then the worst part, the ride back up in the bus... Darren was valiumed out so fine until we met a lorry which had fallen in a ditch on the hill side (wrong side) so we all had to leave the bus while the driver snuk past the lorry, millimetres from the cliff edge!! Now everyone is scared and trying not to look for the rest of the 3 hour journey!! Glad to get back to La Paz in one piece, straight to bed for our bus to Copacabana the next day!!

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